The Local Vineyard Church Podcast
The Local Vineyard Church is a church located in Richmond, Virginia. The Local is a part of the VineyardUSA network. You can find more information about The Local and VineyardUSA by visiting https://localvineyard.church
The Local Vineyard Church Podcast
You in 5 Years
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Have you ever considered where your life might be in the next five years? We explore this across various domains, emphasizing how our daily habits are the building blocks of our tomorrow. But it's more than just thoughts—we talk about making our actions mirror our deepest intentions for lasting change.
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Power to Change
Speaker 1Hey , lbc , good morning . Jacob is so nice , isn't he so nice ? I just want to first say I'm just so grateful to be here . Happy Mother's Day to my mom . She's out here . Y'all seen her , miss V . I wanted to say happy Mother's Day , mom . I appreciate the introduction to Jesus because without that I wouldn't be up here , so I'd have nothing to say to some of y'all and I'd have a lot to say to others . But we're just truly grateful . And so , listen , we've been talking about the power to change here . It's Mother's Day .
Speaker 1The message isn't going to be super duper flowery , but I definitely want to talk about a few things from the perspective of a mom , because I am one right , it's Mother's Day Moms know the most about their kids . I think Dads , y'all know a lot . It's great , we love you . But I think moms get the unique experience of knowing so much about their kids and it actually , I think , helps us as believers because of the way that God fathers us . So when I think about my kids , I have plans for their future . I don't know if anybody else does , but I sit there . I'm like look at you , oh McKinley , I could just see you five years from now . I've already imagined what she'll look like at her little prom , because in five years I got to deal with prom , I got to deal with graduation . Listen , y'all , I'll be a little stressed , okay , just a little bit . Especially now it's prom season , you can see people's dresses and all that kind of thing . But as a mom , I can think of what I can imagine her in five years . Well , why is that ? I know her , I've experienced her and I've seen her habits , her likes , her dislikes over time , right , and so I can see the great things that I believe that God will do for her and that she will become . It's really easy , but this morning we're going to consider ourselves , something moms don't do often . Okay , I know that we're going to take a look in the mirror and we're going to think about ourselves .
Speaker 1Where do you see you in five years ? Just think about it spiritually . Wherever you are now , I want you to consider where do you think you'll be in five years ? Maybe you're here . This is maybe your church that you've joined . Maybe you joined it the beginning of the year and you're like man I really love this word and I'm really starting to get used to my spiritual habits and so maybe in five years you can see yourself really growing with God and being spiritually in a place where you know your prayer life is on a certain level , that you know you're trusting God more and that maybe you're leading your family in spiritual things .
Speaker 1Let's maybe talk relationally . Maybe you got married a short time ago and you're like man . You know we both are here at the church and we just we're looking for God to do something great in our marriage and maybe grow our family . Maybe you've decided you're going to solidify a date night too much working and you need to get a date night going and it's like where do you see your relationship in five years from now ? Financially , maybe you're in a place where you've gotten a new job or you've lost a job and then you're like man , I was really great with my budget and God's like opens up new doors for you and you're able to really plot out what does that look like for me and my family in five years ? Financially ?
Speaker 1Physically , maybe you've joined the gym , maybe you left the gym , I don't know . Maybe you've decided to take on a different diet . God's saying , hey , cut out the sugar . I don't know , that's what he told me . But where do you see yourself Tired , sluggish , not following the plan . Maybe Do you see yourself consistent , steadily losing weight . Where can you imagine yourself Thinking about that most of the time when we consider that we've got two types of people .
Speaker 1We've got the dreamers who are like , yeah , I'm crushing it , right , I'm going to do great . And then we've got the realists who are like this could happen and that could happen . That could derail my plan . What are your fail-safes that are going to stop you from making those changes to get where you think you'll be in five years ? I can tell you that the habits that you have right now , today , are going to shape where you're going to be in five years and even tomorrow . In five years and even tomorrow , the direction of your life is going to go based on the habits that you develop . Jacob has been talking all series about small ways that we can develop new habits to make these changes right . How many people have , like , decided for sure they're going to change something and then was like , man , halfway in , you're like listen , this is hard , I quit .
Speaker 1I have on several things right , I had a great intention . I was like , yeah , I'm gung-ho , I done bought my gym stuff , I done got a new little outfit . I'm excited . My membership is ready . Pay for the membership ain't been in three months . Well , that's not my story right now , but it's been my story in the times past .
Speaker 1So my direction of my action wasn't what my heart said I wanted to do . I really do want to lose 15 pounds , I really do . But I'm not willing to change those actions right , so your intentions don't determine your direction . Apparently , I intended to go to the mall and spend $20 . Who's done this ? You left out a target $200 later . I've done that . Okay , and that's just not how this was supposed to go .
Speaker 1My actions are the only way that my intentions will align with my future . We find ways to justify our actions . Do they really align with godly intentions Because I have some godly intentions or do they align with some fleshly intentions ? I'm going to get what I want to get out of here . Because I'm grown , I can do what I want . Okay , your budget is going to tell you to do what you want , but it's not going to go so well , right , when I consider motherhood , I have some strong intentions as it pertains to my kids .
Speaker 1I don't know about y'all , but I have some really good intentions . I want to be a loving and kind and wonderful mom and sometimes that's not how I show up . Sometimes the pressure of my job , the demands of my home life , all of these schedules I have for every person and every child and every field trip and every teacher's request , sometimes all of that pressure makes me unhappy and it makes me irritable and I come off at a kid and I snap on them because they asked me something that they asked me 10 times already and I told , hey , we're humans . Right , my intention is to be super kind and sweet and loving to you , but right now you done got on my nut . You know what I mean . And so sometimes the pressures and the external stuff will get on you and you don't behave the way you intend to . It's the same when we talk about all of those other areas of our lives .
Speaker 1So when we consider ourselves in five years where we want to be changed right , Because this is the power to change right We've really got to be thoughtful so that our actions are in line with godly intentions and that God will be able to lead us reaps what he sows . Whoever sows to please their flesh from their flesh , will we destruction . Whoever sows to please the Spirit . From the Spirit will reap eternal life . Let us not become weary in doing good things , for at the proper time we will reap a harvest . If you don't give up , god did not say here in this passage to not be deceived . You can sow from the flesh and reap a gift card , or you can . The reaping of the flesh is going to give you destruction like it's super , super clear . I'm like lord , why does it have to give me destruction ? But if we so in the spirit , we reap eternal life two completely separate things .
Speaker 1Right to be deceived means that you're going to be led astray , that you're going to be fooled , that you're going to be derailed . Right , your job is going to come in and get on your nerves and you're not going to be able to talk to your kid the way you said you were . You're not going to be able to listen to them like you said you were right . You're not going to be able to listen to them like you said you were right . You're not going to be able to go to the gym today because actually I'm going to make sure you're in a lot of traffic and doesn't matter , you won't work out . I'm going to ensure that the cafeteria is closed where you are . I have a cafeteria at my job and they be closed and I'll be like Lord . He's like yeah , because you're supposed to eat what you pack . Go back upstairs , okay .
Speaker 1Paul says this really strong description in this passage , because there's only really two options . I know that social media would like you to believe that all of this self-help stuff is going to get you to a place where you're going to just be so zen and so chill and anything goes , and it's going to be great and none of this stuff is going to be bothering you because your chakras are aligned and you have meditated . How many people know that people who meditate still will bomb you out if they get upset ? It does not change that circumstances will make you shift things to where you're either going to have destruction or you're going to have eternal life
Sowing Seeds of Spiritual Transformation
Speaker 1.
Speaker 1So what we want to do , we want to sow the things of the spirit . We sow positive , affirming words . You know what happens . We reap great behavior from our kid . For the most part , we show them good behavior , we give them good words , we encourage them . You're going to get some results , especially if I encourage Preston . He's going to get some results . Okay , he's going . Okay , mom , you like that ? I'm going to do that again . That's how he is .
Speaker 1On the contrary , my kid does something negative . I blow it up . I tell all of y'all . Matter of fact , let me tell you what happened the other day . You , matter of fact , let me tell you what happened the other day . You think that my children are going to tell me anything else ? They're going to be so embarrassed and ashamed . I blow up what they've done wrong . I tell everybody , I shame them . That's not going to be helpful , right ? That's not what we want . Does God expose all your stuff ? Because there's some secrets that you did in the eighth grade that ain't nobody know . And guess what ? If he would have exposed it , what could happen to you ? If it seems heavy , it's because it is . Do you like the direction your habits are taking you in right now ? We wouldn't be on this series if it did .
Speaker 1There's got to be something that you're interested in shifting . You know why ? Because you're here and most people don't need God until they had something else that went wrong . I'll be honest with you , that's just how it goes . So we've discovered in this place that real and lasting change is not behavior modification , but it's spiritual transformation . Nothing that our flesh can produce is anything except destruction . We need to rely on the Spirit of God .
Speaker 1Romans 12 and 2 says do not be conformed to this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind , so that you may prove what is the will of God , that which is good and acceptable and perfect . You have no clue what's good for you . I don't either , and I'm excited about that , because sometimes I make decisions and I do things that don't make any sense to me after the fact . Right , but God says that he will transform our minds . We've got to transform our minds so that we know what is the good and acceptable will of God . We don't have that power to know that outside of God's knowledge . So we've got to use this word . And it all starts with our identity . You do what you do because of what you think of yourself . Guaranteed , when our identity is centered in Christ versus centered in me , we consider who we are quite differently . Then we have a spiritual who . We got a spiritual why . We got a spiritual what . We got a spiritual what not . And we've got a spiritual how and a spiritual impact , because now we don't have a me-centered moment , we've got a spiritual-centered moment and that's what we're looking for .
Speaker 1Just like the laws of gravity , there are laws about sowing and reaping . I personally do not do a great job in a garden . Okay , do not give me a seed , it will not grow , it will be surrounded by dirt , it will be surrounded by water , but , for whatever reason , it might sprout one little thing and then it's going to fall apart . I don't do a great job of that One . I have a very busy schedule , so I don't talk to the plants like you're supposed to talk to them . I don't develop a little relationship with the plant . They say you talk to the plant . I'm not talking to the plant , I'm talking to the people around me . I'm talking to the things I need to do . It's probably why the plants don't grow for me . But there is this law of sowing and reaping and it's always true .
Speaker 1Genesis 8.22 says while the earth remains , there will be seed time , harvest , cold and heat , winter and summer . He did not promise us fall and he did not promise us spring , y'all . What is up with that ? I read that twice because I was mad . I was like I like spring and fall . He said there will be winter and summer . You got that , and day and night shall not cease .
Speaker 1So , no matter what , as long as the earth remains , there's going to be this seed time , there's going to be harvest time , there's going to be cold and heat , there's going to be winter and summer . So the seed has got to produce some kind of harvest . There's rules to this . No matter what it is you sow , there will be reaping . So the rules to this go like this you reap what you sow , you reap more than you sow and you reap after you sow . Let's say it you reap what you sow , you reap more than you sow and you reap what you sow . You reap more than you sow and you reap after you sow . We're gonna break this down just real quick . So you reap what you sow . Okay , if I plant an apple tree , the goal here , if it's not in Brandy's yard , will be that you get apples . Okay , you cannot plant an apple tree and get grapes . I promise you that it's not going to go down .
Speaker 1When we have godly habits that we're sowing , we're going to reap godly outcomes . Also , the opposite is true . If I start drinking today and I decide tomorrow I'm also going to drink at three o'clock , and then the next day I say I'm also going to drink at three o'clock . Guess what's going to happen in about two months , I'm going to be drinking at three o'clock and four o'clock and five o'clock because it's gonna . It's gonna develop a taste in my mouth for something that I'm now consistently doing every single day . Right , it might lead me to a habit that I can't break on my own . It might lead me to a disease that I can't get rid of , right . But it's also true for your godly habits . That's the the great thing . I start reading my word at three o'clock every day . Oh boy , I'm gonna learn a whole lot in three months time , four months time , two years time , man , I'm gonna know a whole lot more about God than I did two years ago , right , and so that harvest might mean you have a Bible study . That harvest might mean you have more knowledge about God , so you may be able to pray over your family and see their lives change . There's so many ways that our godly habits can shift our outcomes , and so we've got to start really digging into them .
Sowing and Reaping Harvests
Speaker 1Hosea 10 and 13 says but you've planted wickedness , you have reaped evil . God's like listen , I'm not joking about this stuff when you over here gossiping , talking about people . You're going to reap some wickedness and somebody's going to say something to you face to face and you're not going to be prepared for it . I don't know , I'm not helping you . Face to face , you're not going to be prepared for it . I don't know , I'm not helping you . I already told you so . We want to make sure that we're doing the things that are great . You late to work . You do have hard effort , got a bad attitude . Guess what ? You're not getting promoted .
Speaker 1Sow seeds of lust , insert some things you shouldn't be watching . Supposed to be having a great marriage , your marriage will get struggling . What do you want ? Somebody might ask for a divorce later on . Right Like you can't be out here sowing those types of things .
Speaker 1You eat something great like an apple today . Tomorrow , you say I'm going to add extra fruits and vegetables to it . The next day you add more man . You end up going to the gym . Six-pack starts developing . You think it's summertime .
Speaker 1You know that's the kind of thing that will happen . It seems like they're simple and it's like duh . But is it Because it gets hard right ? Galatians 5 , 17 says for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit . That's why it gets hard , right there . The flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh ? I want apples , but fried chicken is in front of me . Right , that's what happens , and we don't want the same thing . They're in conflict with each other . So you don't do whatever you want .
Speaker 1God is not suggesting that we live by the Spirit . He completely admonishes us that , hey , if you do these things , you are going to have everlasting life . Why would you not want that ? Well , the Holy Spirit this is Galatians 5.22, . But the Holy Spirit produces fruit Pause . Everything has a seed and a harvest produces fruit , pause . Everything has a seed and a harvest . So the Spirit also has harvest . The fruit of the Spirit is love , joy , peace , patience , kindness , peace , patience , kindness , goodness , faithfulness , gentleness , self-control and against the things that are the fruit of the Spirit . There's no law Guaranteed . Everything the flesh wants you to have there's a law against somewhere . Promise you that these things that the Spirit wants us to develop have no law against them . Free and give you eternal life . I'm sold . I don't know about y'all . No punishment there . What's happening in your life , if it's not a great result , is not punishment . It is simply the result of the seeds you sow .
Speaker 1We got to consider that If it's something you didn't like , you've been sowing bad seeds . I sowed seeds of cookies and Doritos long enough to know where these 40 pounds came from . Okay , it's easy , and I go to that because it's , so we can see that in something else . Right , it's really hard to see when it's you , especially when it's oh , that's just a little thing , it didn't hurt . Well did it ? Because it sounds like it . We're reaping what we sow , but also we reap more than we sow . Oh my gosh , when I was 14 , doritos didn't do nothing to me . I'm not 14 . They do a lot now . I reap more than what I sow .
Speaker 1Mark 4 20 says , and the seed that fell on the good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of 30 , 60 , even a hundred times as much as what is planted . Whoa , I might be in the 60 . Y'all , I might have gained way more . But on the opposite end , if we're sowing that in the spirit , maybe the first year you only , you only saw a little bit of growth , but oh man , you kept being consistent . The second year , oh man , that that 60 harvest came , then maybe you kept doing it . Then , oh man , that third year . Oh my goodness , a hundred times what was planted . It has a compounding effect .
Speaker 1You start small , you make small choices , small decisions . You get consistent and over time you're going to have a radical difference . Maybe you only called to apologize that one time to that one person and you know you messed up with 10 people . By the time you get to that 10th person , all of them may have forgiven you . It may be a whole . You might have a whole new group of friends all of a sudden because you've decided to make the small choice . Let's take it to something even more at home for us . Maybe you got real consistent .
Speaker 1We don't just consider two simple scenarios . You got super consistent with church . You decided you're going to go to the men's small group . And then , man , you decided next year , next time , I'm going to lead the men's small group . Oh well , you are doing something big . And then the next time you're like man , we're going on a men's mission trip . That is small consistency over time , right ?
Speaker 1Maybe we consider an opposite scenario , where you get inconsistent with church . You decide you're going to feel guilty about it instead of trying to do anything about it . You don't want to connect with anybody about it . You get anxious , you get frustrated , you start doing other things that please your flesh because , man , I already didn't do a good job of that . What's going to be that outcome ? The Bible says it's destruction in some way , right ? So maybe you do a thing for the first three months and you don't see something . But , man , that fourth month it takes off . It's all about the consistency and that's what God wants us to do Be consistent . So you read the soap this week and it didn't impact you . This week , do it again , you'll get it . Maybe it'll happen on the fifth time you read it . Maybe it'll only happen on the third time you read it and then by the fifth time , you shared it with somebody else . You multiplied the effect . Now , what you do occasionally do consistently .
Speaker 1I have a small group that started out called Starting Point , and they would as a group . The general consensus of the group was like yeah , I don't know , I don't really have this consistent time with God . It's so funny because several weeks later someone said , hey , yeah , I didn't do the soap this week and I just feel so bad about it and I was just like but you have a consistent time with God now every week . You didn't have before . We don't recognize sometimes that it's just a small thing , but now we try to leave .
Speaker 1The small group Y'all they done wrote me in , told me listen , we can't do this without you , we need you to keep going . What Now ? They can't , they don't want to go without it . Before they said no Bible study , nobody would have cared , they'd have moved on , they'd have watched some other show , they'd have done something else . And so my point to you is now we've been consistent . They're like oh , you can't stop now and that's what . That's what this is supposed to do . That's what the word of God is supposed to do for your life . It gets you hungry , right , it gets you hungry . So the last point is that we reap after we sow . It's not happening today . Maybe something will , but if I go to the gym today , this is what I expect that I have lost seven pounds when I left . Okay , and I promise you that is what I expect . One , because I came cute . Two , I got in here and I did what I was supposed to and therefore I have checked the boxes and I drank my water . Okay , that is not how this works . Sometimes it is , but for the most part it is not .
Speaker 1Seed time doesn't happen in the same season as harvest . Does winter happen in the same season as harvest ? Does winter happen in the same season in summer ? No , james 1 , 4 says but let patience , it was a fruit of the Spirit . You had to sowed in the spirit to get this part . Okay , that was the fruit of the Spirit .
Speaker 1Let patience , patience have its perfect work that you might be perfect , complete , lacking nothing . Listen , I have lacked a few things sometimes . Okay , I don't want to lack anything else . Therefore , I have gotten real consistent about this word , because I don't want to lack anything . What are you lacking ? Look back to that fruit of the spirit list and see what you need to sow . Are you need to sow in the spirit or you need to sow in the flesh ? Because whatever you're lacking , I'm sure it's got something to do with the spirit , because this is you got to . Let patience have its word . I don't always like patience . It's not very fun . He didn't say it was fun , he said it was fruit . Let's be clear it's not always fun . Our lives are the sum total of the small decisions we make and therefore we need to make small spiritual decisions as often as possible . You on board , because I'm on board as often as possible . You on board Cause I'm on board .
Speaker 1We don't judge anything by the success of the day , but by the harvest we reap . It's not about the harvest we reap , it is 100% about the seeds we sow . We get real excited about the tree . No one's excited about the seedling . We've really got to make sure we're focused on sowing more seed , because the more seed you sow , eventually oh boy , you got a forest out there . Do not allow yourselves to be deceived , deceived by your job , deceived by your social status , deceived by the internet , because God knows that is a deceiving place . Do not be deceived . God cannot be mocked . You are going to reap what you sow . You are going to reap more than you sow and you are going to reap after you sow .
Speaker 1Our society does not value patience , but God honors patience . Consider the work 30 years to do three years worth of work . What are you trying to do with your measly efforts ? What big thing ? Are you trying to step out here and say you know what , I got it . I got it , I'm ready , I love this little ? One example and it's not to embarrass my child in any way , shape or form , but I think it's really great .
Speaker 1I have a really ambitious kid named Peyton and I love her so much , but she really always bites off more than she can chew . She thinks she's so ready and you know , as as parents , we're like girl , just be patient , you'll have time for that . Well , she thinks it's now . Now is the time for like , everything right . And sometimes she gets herself in these situations and then she's like hey , mommy , I need you and you know what I do . I don't leave her , I don't say that's what you get . I knew she wasn't ready , but I stand with her and I help her and I show her what she needs , because that is what God does with us .
Speaker 1There are some things in your life you're not able to change on your own . Jesus left us with the coolest thing . He left us with the third dimension of himself , which is the Holy Spirit . We have the power to change because we have power in him . He said after this the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you the power . Maybe you're trying to have the power on your own . Maybe you're doing everything you absolutely can in the flesh to change your circumstances . Maybe you have followed the self-help book to the T . Maybe you have followed the diet to the T and you're like I don't see it changing .
Speaker 1For myself , I can't get over this addiction . I don't know how to make this work . My marriage won't ever have the life that it needs to have in it anymore . We're never going to fix that . I've already done all the things .
Speaker 1Well , maybe that's the problem . Maybe you're sowing in the flesh . Maybe you're not looking to God to say how can I sow in the spirit ? Well , love , joy , peace , patience . You're not seeing those things . You're not submitted , you're not sowing in the spirit . This morning I'm inviting you . You want to see the power of change in a mighty way in your life . You have got to manage your seed . I need you to get in your mind those things that you know you're doing by your own effort . I'm not going to make you stand up . I'm not going to force you to do anything .
Speaker 1But one of the cool things about what I've seen as I've transitioned here the moment I started to really sow in the spirit , god opened up opportunities to expose that fruit in my life . I got diligent in God's word and so sometimes you all will see me up here worshiping . I can worship that way because man , I've tasted and seen . I got a little glimpse as I kept reading and I kept finding myself in that word . He kept exposing myself . It's easy for me to raise a hallelujah so easy why Not ? Because I feel great on a stage . Trust me , I get nervous like the rest of y'all . Y'all have no idea what happens before I get out of here . However , it's his spirit . I can't deny the spirit of God . I can't deny the fruit that comes from my life . If I'm an apple tree , god bless it . You see all these apples . It'd be different if I'm trying to give you an orange , because that's not what I can produce . You see what I'm saying ? Amen .
Sowing Seeds of Praise and Renewal
Speaker 1I'm going to share something with you guys from this scripture , as Nick helps me out , something that you need to not leave here knowing . Psalm 103 says that we can let praises rise . Let all that I am praise the Lord . That means let my spiritual life , my financial life , my physical life , let all that I am praise the Lord . I will praise his holy name . Let all that I am praise the Lord . May I never forget the good things he's done for me . He forgives my sins . He heals all my diseases , all my dis-ease , the things that cause me discomfort , the things that make me not do what I know the Spirit of God wants me to do . He can cleanse me of all of that . He redeems me from death and he crowns me with love and tender mercies . He fills my life with good things . My mouth , my youth excuse me is renewed like the eagles , those things that you're hoping to change . When you release them to the Lord , he will fill you from the inside and he will renew your strength like the eagles .
Speaker 1If you don't mind , just stand with me , get on your mind the things you need to release to the Lord . I'm going to pray this prayer over you . You can pray it with me if it's for you . If it's not for you , then I just pray that you would encourage somebody , maybe next to you , that it might be for . But , lord , we release our desires in our way . We no longer desire to live a life based on our flesh , but we are sowing seeds , not from a selfish place or selfish desire , but we yield to your spirit in all things . We have the power to change , because of what you did for us on the cross as we sow in the spirit . We thank you in advance for the harvest . Because of you , our future and our hope is sure . Because we endeavor to sow in the spirit . I thank you in advance for eternal life , amen .